Smart escooter

The Smart division of Mercedes-Benz could be doing better, and in an effort to do better, it is rather eager to test the public reaction at the next week’s Paris Motor Show to its new, futuristic-looking, plug-in electric-powered scooter – a sort of alternative to the Fortwo city car.

More of a concept than a prototype, this sort of escooter is just one of several two- and four-wheeled proposals that the Smart managing director has to consider to launch into production as part of a recent in-house program. The program is meant to focus the everyday operations on mobility solutions, as evidenced by the constantly expanding car-to-go scheme that Smart has recently launched in Austin, Texas.

What we know is that the scooter will feature a steel and aluminium frame, as well as interchangeable plastic panels – these features are taken from the Fortwo. The scooter’s power will come from a 4-kilowatt electric motor that will be mounted under the seat, and it will power the rear wheel. The scooter’s 48-volt lithium-ion battery is mounted in the floor and is sufficient for a range of up to sixty-two miles in typical urban traffic – or so the manufacturer says. Additional energy will be supplied by solar cells mounted on the panel at the front of the scooter.

The Escooter will also feature energy-recouping brakes that will only require a squeeze of a traditional handlebar-mounted lever in order operate both front and rear disc-operate units, which will also get ABS antilock at the same time.

In order to up the safety of their small two-wheeled vehicle, Mercedes have also mounted an airbag within the paneling beneath the handlebars. It’s been designed to protect the driver’s torso and legs in the case of a frontal impact. One of the typical causes of accidents on scooters is the blind spot, but Smart have thought about this and have included blind-spot assist as well, using a small rectangular lamp mounted in the rearview mirrors to warn of object in the blind spot.